The Concept of Tragedy in Relation to the Play Oedipus Rex
Tragedy is, and always has been, a popular form of play, used by Shakespeare in his plays and the ancient Greeks. There is something about the wonderful horror of seeing another suffer that has always fascinated people through time, and it is this fascination that tragedies play upon. That is not all though, tragedies make people aware of their own faults, and through the actions of the characters, learn to live more happily with others.A tragedy is human conflict, usually ending in suffering and even death. It shows a hero or heroine battling against various forces, usually delaying the inevitable. Tragedies aren't supposed to be random accidents or unavoidable hardships, they are caused by the faults of the major characters or others close to them. If a tragedy is seen as an accident, it removes much of the point of the play and makes it seem as if the hero has been cheated, and because the audience has formed pity for him, they feel cheated as well.Traditionally tragedies show the hero as being someone of great power. This is to accentuate their suffering, as the audience is expected to look upon them with awe as a person who would never be expected to fall on hard times, let alone become mixed up in a conflict that eventua
He is described as being the wise and loving king of his land, a good man. He blinds himself and has nothing to look forward to but banishment and death. An interesting point is that his downfall came when he committed the crimes, making his actions his crime and also his punishment. lly would end in their suffering or death. Episode three shows a completely different kind of irony, and surprisingly contains the only amount of comic relief in the play, as Oedipus and Teiresias trade insults. The emotions of pity, for the hero, and horror, at the hero's punishment, make the audiences feel cleansed. The empathy with the hero helps the audience grow from the play. This makes all his crimes his fault due to his temper. Its present in several places in the play, but the audience must know the entire story already to pick up on it. As the conflict draws to a close, Oedipus's nature has been revealed, his crimes have been revealed and his suffering is at its peak. After finding what he has done he is mortified, and can see now that he was wrong to doubt the gods. At the start of the play, the priest is asking Oedipus for help, even though it is Oedipus's fault that plague and famine rack the city. The audience can justify that all he went through was his own doing and therefore feel undisturbed about his punishment, harsh though it is. It is used to heighten the tension and make the play unpredictable.
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,
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Thebes Irony,
Oedipus Teiresias,
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